I have been in
mourning for the start of the football season since, well, the end of
the last football season. While I enjoy the basketball, baseball
and NASCAR seasons, I only count the days to the start of football
season.

First of all, welcome back ECU football players and welcome to the 100
degree temperatures that many of us thought might have eluded us this
summer. The dog days (insert Michael Vick joke here) of summer
are here and that's another sign that the first kickoff quickly
approaches. So that seems like a great place to start.

I am very excited about the opener in Blacksburg. What a way to
begin the season. A nationally televised ESPN game, with the
GAMEDAY crew on hand. This may be the first time that the
pre-game coverage draws more attention than a football game, but ask
any athlete and they will tell you that once the ball is kicked off or
the puck dropped or first pitch is thrown, it's time to get down to
business.

I have talked at length on Pirate Radio about my sadness, well-wishes,
prayers, and roller coaster ride of emotions for the Virginia Tech
family. Those haven't changed, but when the ball is kicked off
and ceremonies are over, it's time to take care of business. As a
realist, I know the Pirates will have their hands full.
That may be the understatement of the year. As a bleeding
purple fan, I think we need to pull every play, trick, or scheme out of
the book to stay close and have a chance at a major upset. If it
happens, sure prognosticators will not credit us with winning, but Va.
Tech being too distracted in the loss. I don't care. I'll
take the win and run out of Blacksburg.

My next thoughts of the upcoming season look to the two huge interstate
battles with Carolina and State. I am thrilled that we get UNC in
week two and Butch Davis won't have a chance to mold his new team into
a competitive group he hope's they will be by season's end. I do
fear that the iron fist of Tom O'Brien could take full effect on an
underachieving, low disciplined Wolfpack group by October 20th.
However, I can't wait to walk into Dowdy-Ficklen stadium on these two
days and see an ocean of Pirate faithful, none of which are sitting in
their seats.

The Pirate Nation has stepped up and bought more season tickets than
ever before, but that's only half the battle. We need to be the
12th man on the field. Applauding every ECU first down, cheering
and going nuts on every opposing third down and basically making life
miserable for the other team.

Another exciting/worrisome thought is the quarterback situation.
Will it be QB by committee, or will Rob Kass step up and take the
position that will likely be his on September 1st? I do take
solace in knowing that our offensive line is another year experienced
and the coaches say Chris Johnson seems to finally understand his
role. That will take some pressure of the signal caller, but
whoever it is will still bear the burden of setting sail or sinking the
ship.

Lastly, I am just excited about game days. I can't wait to sit in
my lawn chair on the tailgate fields enjoying a Pirate beverage with my
wife and boys and all our friends before making our way into the
stadium. Of course, the best coverage anywhere, four hours of the
Budweiser Pre-Game Tailgate preps me for kickoff and the Bill Clark
Homes 5th Quarter Post Game show is for Pirate fans to talk about the
game afterward. (Shameless plug here).

The days are counting down and we are less than a month away from
kickoff of the best part of the year. Get the purple haze ready
to roll and put the cold ones on ice, FOOTBALL SEASON is almost here!